General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard was one of the senior commanders of Southern forces during the Civil War. It was he who initiated the hostilities by opening fire on Ft. Sumter in Charleston harbor, in April, 1861.

In July of that year, having taken command of the Confederate Army of the Potomac, he triumphed in the first serious clash of the war, at Manassas, Virginia. His army, aided by reinforcements from Johnston's army in the Shenandoah Valley, routed a Federal army under General McDowell. Had it been his army instead that routed, it is possible the Civil War might have ended that same year, as the path to Richmond would have been wide open.

This is his account of the battle, including the strategic situation leading up to it. As an afterward, he added a very revealing appraisal of the relations between him and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and the reasons why, in his opinion, the South failed to win its war of secession.

Summary and recording by Mark F. Smith

M4B format available


This audio is part of the collection: The LibriVox Free Audiobook Collection
It also belongs to collections: Audio Books & Poetry; Community Audio

Artist/Composer: Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Date: 2007-01-20
Source: Librivox recording of a public-domain text
Keywords: librivox; audiobook; history; Civil War

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: FNH - - June 21, 2008
Subject: Free Audio Review
I have an interest in the American Civil War going back many years and so when I noticed this non fiction book on Librivox I rushed home to download it. To my delight I found that it was read by one of my favourite Librivox readers, Mark Smith.

The book was well paced, with the General leading us though the run up to the battle and into the events of the battle itself. I found it very interesting and satisfying to hear the details and concerns of a General who was actually there in the middle of the action.

If you have any interest in the American Civil War, then this book is a must read(listen) and due to it being a short one, you no excuse not to!

Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3

Total Score 8/9

Find more of my free audio reviews at http://freeaudioreview.blogspot.com